How much do you stick to the preflop guide?

[AcidJazz]

I had KQo and had 3 bets against me and I wanted to raise or at least call (and always would have). Is this generally a horrible idea and should I really stick to the guidelines in the faq? I'm sure if I'd bet hands like that like that that I could have swings because of it but who knows =\

[Paxosmotic]

I don't at all, but I play like an idiot preflop. I play a ring game preflop exactly like I play a tournament final table preflop. The two are not the same, yet I do it. Do not be like me.

KQo is always a good fold facing a 3-bet preflop no matter what your style.

[numeri]

Are you saying someone who acted before you 3-bet? If so, this is instamuck.

The starting hand charts are a great starting place. You won't be missing out on much to stick with them initially. I've only started deviated in certain instances. Sometimes the players you're against and the relative position you have on them dictates play that is different from the SSHE starting hand guidelines. Until you can recognize those differences, stick with the guide.

[AcidJazz]

It got raised twice before it came around to me.

Instamuck then? I'm going to stick to the guide as it at least puts some discipline in me. It's difficult to sometimes though :/

[numeri]

Yeah, KQo is in bad shape against a 3-bet. Against an unknown, I generally assume AA-TT, AKs/o, and maybe AQs. Can you see why it's instamuck?

EDIT: Also, have you checked the FAQ? There's a lot of good info there as well.

[CourtJester]

I stuck with it until i started reading 2+2 A LOT. I suggest u stick with it at first. Then after u get a grasp of your level, and reads, get used to position, and ur position against others, and then youll be able to make your own decisions about preflop. And alwasy remember Postflop>Preflop

[mojobluesman]

I actually think the Internet Texas Holdem pre flop play charts are better than the SSHM charts. There's a couple of mistakes in the ITH charts (a few AQ hands for example), but generally I like the way is tells you that certain hands are playable with a certain number of players in front of you and in other cases they are not. SSH, has a lot of assumptions built into it about the number of callers you will "likely" face. It's more basic than ITH.

[turaho]

Super easy instamuck. Against a raise and re-raise, the odds of you being dominated (either by a better K/Q or a high pocket pair) is huge.

I think the biggest leap I made in poker ability is finding the discipline to fold marginally strong hands to a raise. I was the guy who cold-called with QTs or AJo (all the while laughing at guys who cold-called with Q3s and A5o). It took a while to take SSHE to heart and stop cold-calling or at least know the right times to cold-call.

You'll be amazed at how much your winrate improves if you just follow that simple rule.

Edited to add that you will never, EVER find a situation where it is cool to call 3 bets cold preflop. If you don't have a hand worth capping (e.g. AA/KK/QQ/AKs), you're not playing that hand, no matter how pretty your cards seemed when they were first dealt.

Muck that KQ, but I usually stick fairly close to the guidelines. The time to deviate is when you're getting good odds in position on hands that can make medium high flushes like, or certain connectors. The other thing is sometimes it's smart to reraise to isolate players who are loose raisers.

[Innocentius]

Hi Acid, I read in another thread that you have been reading most of Small Stakes Holdem. Reread the preflop chapter. As people have already pointed out in this thread, KQo should be folded to a 3-bet, because you are very likely dominated, which is very bad. Reread the chapter to understand WHY KQo should be folded in this situation. This is much more important than knowing what this or that chart says about it.